Hydraulic log-peeler having a barkslitting nozzle and a bank of barkremoving nozzles



A. HOISS 2,809,583 HYDRAULIC LOG-PEELER HAVING A BARK-SLITTING NOZZLE Oct. 15, 1957 AND A BANK OF BARK-REMOVING NOZZLES Filed June 1, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 N S a A'ITD R N EYS Oct. 15, 1957 A. HOISS 2,309,683

HYDRAULIC LOG-PEELER HAVING A BARK-SLITTING NOZZLE AND A BANK OF BARK-REMOVING NOZZLES Filed June 1, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATI'DRN EYs Oct. 15, 1957 A. HOISS 2,809,683 HYDRAULIC LOG-PEELER HAVING A BARK-SLITTING NOZZLE AND A BANK OF BARK-REMOVING NOZZLES Filed June 1, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 mum 3 INVENTOR. 14/1 77 H055 ATTD RN EYS HYDRAULIC LGG-PEELER HAVING A BARK- SLHTHIG NGZZLE AND A BANK OF BARK- REMGVING NOZZLES Anton Hoiss, Sacramento, Calif.

Application June 1, 1955, Serial No. 512,396

Claims. (Cl. 144208) This invention relates to logging machinery and equipment, and in particular, a machine for hydraulically slitting bark on a log and removing the bark by rotating the log with the bark subjected to a battery of spray nozzles.

The purpose of this invention is to provide means whereby bark may be peeled from a log by hydraulic means.

Various types of devices have been provided for removing bark from logs, however, it is difficult to remove bark without taking part of the wood therewith and, particularly, where the diameter of the log changes in a comparatively short space, it is diflicult to remove all of the bark.

With this thought in mind, this invention contemplates a machine for first slitting the bark of a log with a hydraulic spray and, after the bark is slit, rotating the log against a battery of spray nozzles which peel the bark continuously from the log.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bar"- removing machine that is adapted to operate in stages where the bark is longitudinally slit in one stage and in which the log is rotated against a battery of spray nozzles in the second stage whereby the water sprayed against the log is forced in under the bark to efiect its removal circumferentially of the log.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic log-peeling machine which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view, the invention embodies a pair of bars mounted in inclined positions providing substantially a V-shaped trough, a nozzle positioned to discharge through a slot in one of said bars for slitting bark on a log positioned in the trough, a battery of freely rotating disks positioned to receive a log from the bars, a battery of power-driven disks positioned to receive a log from the freely rotatable disks and having spray nozzles positioned to spray fluid under pressure against a log being rotated by said rollers, a second battery of freely rotatable disks positioned to receive a log from the power-driven disks, a conveyor chain for carrying a log through the bars and rollers, a pump for supplying water, selectively, to the nozzle for slitting the bark of the log, or to the battery of nozzles for removing the bark from the log, and suitable control means for operating the parts.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the improved log peeler showing a motor-actuated pump at one side and having connections with a selective valve therein extending from the pump to the first stage of the machine for slitting bark on logs and also a connection to a battery of nozzles for peeling bark from the logs.

Figure 2 is an enlarged-scale cross section through the machine taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the relative positions of the log and the bark-slitting nozzle 2. and also showing the transmission elements of bark cutting saws of the machine.

Figure 3 is a cross section through the section of the machine in which the log is carried by power-driven rollers, and is taken on line 33 of Figure 1, the parts being shown on an enlarged scale and illustrating a header and one of the nozzles for discharging water under pressure to peel the bark from the log and also showing one of the saws for cutting the bark into relatively short pieces.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through a portion of the machine taken on line 44 of Figure 2 with parts broken away.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through the barkdisposing section of the machine taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2, also with parts broken away.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through the pressureactuated hydraulic valve for switching water under pressure from the slitting operation to the peeling operation, being taken on line 66 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal section taken on line 77 of Figure 3 and shows a log-moving cleat on the conveyor chain, parts being broken away.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section through a solenoidcontrolled valve for reversing the fluid pressure to the hydraulic valve, being taken on line 8-8 of Figure l and showing the valve in its neutral position.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, the improved barkpeeling machine of this invention includes batteries of powerdriven rollers 10 and 11, batteries of freely rotating disks 12 and 13 at the receiving end of the machine, similar batteries of freely rotating disks l4 and 15 at the discharge end of the machine, bars 16 and 17 on which logs are retained in the process of slitting the bark, a

nozzle 18 for discharging a stream of water to slit the bark longitudinally of a log, a plurality of nozzles 19 for discharging water between the bark and surface of a log to peel the bark circumferentially from the log, a control valve 2'3 for switching a stream of water from a pump 21 from the slitting nozzle 18 to the nozzles 19, a valve 22 actuated by solenoids 23 and 24 for reversing the direction of flow of fluid under pressure to a cylinder 25 of the control valve Zll, an endless conveyor chain 26 for carrying logs longitudinally of the machine, a conveyor 27 for carrying bark from logs to saws 28, and suitable motors and other transmission elements for operating the parts of the machine.

The bars 16 and 17, for carrying a log at the receiving end of the machine, are supported on uprights 29' and 3i? which are connected by a cross bar 31 at the upper part of the machine and by suitable bars, such as the bar 32, at the lower part. The upright is provided with a channel-shaped track 33 in which an upper run of the conveyor chain 26 travels and, as illustrated in Figure l, the conveyor chain 26 continues through the different sections of the machine and to the opposite or discharge end thereof. The conveyor chain 26 is trained over suitable sprockets, such as sprocket 34, shown in Figure 3, the sprocket being mounted on a shaft 35 rotatably mounted in bearings 36 and 3'7 and driven by suitable means through a universal joint 38. The chain 26 is rovided with suitable cleats 39 which, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 7, are positioned to engage the end of a log, such as the log 4%, whereby the log .is carried through the machine from one operation to another.

The freely rotatable disks 12, 13, 14 and 15 are formed, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 with small disks 41 rotatab'ly mounted on chordal pins. 42 extending across transverse notches in the periphery of circular webs 43 mounted on hubs 44 and, as illustrated in Figure l, the

disks 12 are freely rotatable on a shaft 45, the disks 13 on a shaft 46, the disks 14 on a shaft 47, and the disks 15 on a shaft 48. The disks are retained in spaced relation by set collars 49 and the shafts are mounted in suitable bearings 51 The bearings of the shaft are mounted on upper surfaces of cross :bars 51 and 52 and, as shown in Figure 2, the bearings ofrthe shaft 46 are mounted on the under surfaces, of the cross bars. The cross bar 52 is supported by posts 53 and 54 and the cross bar 55 at the opposite end of the intermediate section is supported by similar posts. The cross bar 55 provides means for mounting bearings of the. shafts 47 and 48 and a similar bar 56 supported by'posts 57 and 58 supports bearings for the opposite ends of the shafts 47 and 48.

The power-driven disks 10 and 11 are keyed at 164 on shafts 59 and 69 that are rotatably mounted in bearings 61 in end walls 62 of a housing having side walls 63 and, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 the disks 1i) and 11 are provided with knurled rollers 64, rotatably mounted on pins 65, similar to the disks 41, and the disksll) and 11 are rotated by a motor 66 with a belt 67 that is trained over a pulley 68 on the motor shaft and also over .a pulley 69 on the shaft 63. The shaft 59 is driven by the shaft through a chain'79 that is trained over a sprocket 71 on the shaft 69 and also over a similar sprocket 72 on the shaft 59.

As a log is rotated by the disks or rollers 18 and 11, water or other fluid under pressure is discharged through the nozzles 19, as illustrated in Figure 3, whereby the water is' forced under the bark, such as indicated by the numeral 73, and the bark is peeled from the log. The nozzles 19 extend from a header 74 which receives water under pressure through a conduit 77 branching from the valve 29 which communicates with a discharge outlet 83 of the pump 21 which, in turn, is connected by a conduit 76 to a tank 75.

The nozzle 18 is connected to the valve 29 by another branch conduit 78. The wall of the valve 29 is provided with openings 79 and 8 3 in communication with the conduits 78 and 77, respectively; The valve is provided with a sliding cylinder 81 having pass-ages 82 and 34 to selectively connect the discharge 83 of the pump 21 to the conduit 78 of the nozzle 18, as shown in Figure 1, and to the conduit 77 of the header 74. V

The slidab'le cylinder 81 of the hydraulic control valve 2 3 is actuated by the fluid cylinder 25, the opposite ends of which are connected by tubes 85 and 86 as shown in Figs. 1 and 8 to ports 87 and 88 of the solenoidactuated valve 22. A chamber 89 of the valve 22 is connected by a'tube 90 to the discharge of a pump 91 that is driven by a motor 92 through a belt 93 and pulleys 94 and 95. The suction side of the pump is connected by a tube 96 to a reservoir 97 that is connected by a tube 93 to the opposite side of the valve 22.

The chamber 89 of the valve 22 is provided with valve pistons 99 and 1% which are carried by a rod 101 and which are biased to neutral position by compression springs S, one. only of which is illustrated in Fig. 8, and the ends of the rod lt'll are connected to plungers of the solenoids 23 and 24. The solenoids are adapted to move the valve pistons longitudinally to, selectively,

open the ports 87 and 88 to' apply pressure to either end of the cylinder 25. 'The valve cylinder 81 is connected by a belt 102 as shown in Fig. 6 to a piston rod 163 which extends from a piston 104 in the cylinder 25.

Bark peeled from the log drops uponvthe chain-operated belt conveyor 27, chains 195'and'106 of which are trained over sprockets 107 and 108 on an outer shaft 109 and also over sprockets 110 and 111 on an inner shaft 112. The conveyor carries the bark to the saws 28 on a shaft 113, the shaft being rotatably mounted in bearings 114 and 115 on U=shaped brackets 116 and 117 on a lower leg of which the bearings of the shaft 199 are also mounted; The shaft 113 is rotated by a which is a valve 159;

motor118 through a belt 119, a pulley 120 on the motor shaft and a pulley 121 on the shaft 113 and the shaft 109 is rotated by a belt 122 which is trained'over a pulley 123 on the motor shaft and also over a pulley 124 on the shaft 109. The belt of the conveyor 27 "is trained over an elongated pulley or roller 125 on the inner shaft with a switch 131. The motor 66 which drives the logrotating disks 10 and 11 is connected with leads 132 and 133 to power=supply wires 134 and 135 and the lead 133 is provided with a switch 136. The motor 92 of the pump 91, that communicates with the solenoid valve 22, is connected by leads 137 and 138 to current supply wires 139 and 140 and the lead 138 isprovided with a switch 141. The motor 142 of the pump21 which drives the pump with a belt 143 trained over pulleys 144 and 145 is connected by leads 146 and 147 to the current supply wires 140 and 139, respectively, and the lead 147 is provided with a switch 148.

The device is provided with a conventional trip switch 149 which is biased to open position by means, such as a spring, not showngand which is connected 'by a wire 15%? to the supply wire 140 and by a wire 151 to one sideof the solenoid 23, the opposite side of the solenoid 23 being connected by a wire 152 to the supply wire 139 through a wire 153, and the wire 153 is also con nected to one side of the solenoid 24, the opposite side of which is connected by a wire 154 to a second conventional trip switch 155, which is also biased to open position by means not shown.

With the. parts designed and assembled in this mm.

ner, a log is started on the bars 16 and 17 and as the log is drawn by the cleat 39 of the conveyor chain 26 over the nozzle 18 the bark of the log is slit longitudinally by hydraulic action and the log with the slit in the bark'is carried to the disks 10 and 11 in the middle section of the machine which then rotate the legs so that its periphery moves against the jets of water from the nozzles 19 which peel the bark circumferentially from the log, the bark dropping upon the conveyor 27 and the l'og'later passing to the freely rotating disks 14 and 15.

maybe of any suitable size and, as shown in Figure l, V

the tank is provided with a filling or supply pipe 158 in The channel 33 in which the upper strand of the conveyor chain 26 is carried is supported through .the intermediate part of the machine by a bottom wall 160 of the housing,

angle in relation to the channel 33, and which. is mounted on the underside of the inclined section 163 of the front Wall 63 of the housing.

The logs may be provided in random lengths, preferably in lengths less than the distance between the ends of the center unit in which the disks 1%) and 1-1 are po-' sitioned, and are placed-on the rails or bars 16 and'17 in axially spaced relation, such axial spacing to exceed thedistance between the trip switches149 and 155. When the leading end of a log engages and closes the switch 1 149, the solenoid 23 of the solenoid valve 22 is energized so that the valve 22 will operate the slide valve 201 to supply water under pressure to the nozzle 18 to slit the bottom wall 160 being supported by bars 161 connected to :an underlying inclined section'163 the bark longitudinally of the log. When the trailing end of the log passes over the trip switch 149, the latter opens to de-energize the solenoid 23 to permit the springs S to return the solenoid valve 22 to its neutral position.

As the conveyor 26 continues to move the log from left to right as viewed in Fig. l, the leading end of the log next engages and closes the trip switch 155 which energizes the solenoid 24. The latter pulls the solenoidvalve rod 191 to the right, see Fig. 8, so that pressure fluid is admitted to the right-hand end of the cylinder 25, Fig. l, to shift the valve slide 81 to the left and thus bring the passages 83, 34, and 80 into registry in order to supply water under pressure to the bark-peeling noz' zles 19.

When the trailing end of the log passes the trip switch 155, the latter opens to de-energize the solenoid 24 to permit the solenoid valve 22 to again return to neutral position, in readiness for the next cycle of operation, which will be initiated by the leading end of the next log engaging and closing the trip switch 149.

The log-rotating motor 66, the motor 92 for the pump 91 that supplies pressure fluid to the cylinder 25 through the solenoid valve 22, the motor 118 that operates the bark-removing conveyor 27 and the hark-cutting saws 28, and the motor 142 that operates the pump 21 that supplies water under pressure to either the nozzle 18 or the bank of nozzles 19 through the valve 20, are all started or stopped by manual operation of the switches 136, 141, 131 and 148, respectively.

It will he understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the function of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A log-peeling machine comprising a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed bars positioned for retaining a log, means for axially advancing the log through the machine, a bark-slitting nozzle positioned to longitudinally slit bark on a log advancing along said bars, a plurality of freely rotating disks positioned to receive a log from said bars, a plurality of power-driven disks positioned to receive and to rotate a log from the freely rotating disks, a plurality of freely rotating disks positioned to receive a log from the power-driven disks, and a plurality of nozzles positioned to circumferentially remove hark from a log being rotated by said power-driven disks.

2. A log-peeling machine as recited in claim 1, and means for selectively supplying water to the bark-slitting nozzles and to the nozzles positioned to coact with the log-rotating disks.

3. A log-peeling machine as recited in claim 1, and relatively small disks having knurled peripheral surfaces and being rotatably mounted on ehordal axes extending across transverse notches in the peripheries of the freely rotating and power-driven disks.

4. In a log-peeling machine, the combination which comprises a pair of elongated parallel bars positioned for slidably supporting a log, a bark-slitting nozzle positioned to longitudinally slit bark on a log moving axially along said bars, a first set of freely rotating disks positioned to receive a log from said bars, a plurality of power-driven disks positioned to receive and to rotate a log from the first set of freely rotating disks, a second set of freely rotatable disks positioned to receive a log from the powerdriven disks, a plurality of nozzles positioned between the power-driven disks for discharging water under pressure against a log rotated by said disks for separating bark circumferentially from such a log, means for selectively supplying water under pressure to the bark-slitting nozzle and to the nozzles positioned between the power-driven disks, and means for conveying a log along said 'bars and over the sets of freely rotating and power-driven disks.

5. In a log-peeling machine as defined in claim 4, wherein said freely rotating disks have peripheral notches therein, and transversely disposed, relatively small disks rotatably mounted in said notches so as to extend partly beyond the periphery of said freely rotating disks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,277,808 Witham Sept. 3, 1918 2,611,401 Burton Sept. 23, 1952 2,630,848 Edwards Mar. 10, 1953 

